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One of the most underutilized live baits are a small schooling fish that are more plentiful than any other bait fish in our area. Pogies (or Menhaden) are a type of shad that can be found thriving in bayous and rivers in Southeast Louisiana. They are grey-silver in color with a green tinted back and yellow tinted fins. Their most notable characteristic is the black spot located behind the gill cover. They can grow five inches in their first year, and can grow up to twelve inches during their five to six year lifespan. Pogies are a very oily fish, so much so that you can often recognize the sheen on the surface of the water before you even spot them. Like I said before, one benefit to using pogies is that they are plentiful but keep in mind that they are also very delicate. When keeping them alive in a live well try and use a rounded container that is free of corners. Pogies are always swimming which means they are never stationary. These fish can damage themselves quickly by constantly swimming into the wall if your live well has corners.
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St. Genevieve Launch in Slidell
Finding pogies is much easier early in the morning or late in the afternoon when the wind has dies down. You can spot them by standing on the bow of your boat. You will see a shimmer on the waters surface usually a few feet wide but it can be bigger depending on the size of the school. Typically the schools of pogies that are in the lake are bigger than the schools that you will find in the bayou or rivers. It's best to use a trolling motor to get close to the school of fish. When you get close the shimmer on the surface might disappear but don't be discouraged, they are still there. They are just below the surface. Throw your castnet as close as you can to where you last saw the school and let the net settle for a few seconds. Catching pogies from land it a bit more difficult but can be done. One of my favorite spots to catch pogies from land is the docks at the hwy 433 bridge by St. Genvieve Church in Slidell.
I find the best hook to use when using pogies for bait is a 4/0 circle hook. When fishing them under a cork, hook them through the back. This allows a more natural presentation. Also don't pop your cork. The pogie will stay alive much longer. My favorite way to fish pogies is fee-lining them. I find they stay alive longer and they swim more naturally without any weights weighing them down. Another way to hook them is through the nostrils or eye sockets, but I find that keep them through the eye socket keeps them alive the longest. Sometimes I hear fishermen complaining that they can't catch any fish on pogies but they see them blowing up on the shad all around them. One problem may be that your pogie is blending in with the other thousands of pogies in the school. Try fishing considerably deeper when this is the case. The fish are more likely to hit your bait first before they swim up to the school for an ambush. Also, try fishing off the bottom with a freshly killed shad. The big redfish that follow the schools around are lazy and they wait for dead or dying shad to sink down to them. Use a 1oz egg sinker above a swivel and 2 foot leader with a circular hook. Hook the dead shad through the eye sockets, then cast out and let the bait drift along the bottom with the current on an outgoing tide.
-Keith Lusher Jr
-Keith Lusher Jr
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